Woman accusing French players of rape speaks out

UPDATE: An Argentine woman who accused two French international players of raping and beating her after a match earlier this month, said she had “said ‘no’ to sexual relations”.

In her first interview since the scandal erupted during a South American tour by the French national team, the woman gave her side of the story.

The players, Hugo Auradou and Oscar Jegou, both 21, have insisted there was consensual sex.

“The evidence is solid and real. I was deceived from the first moment. In the nightclub, I said ‘no’ to sexual relations”, she declared in an interview with the newspaper Diario Uno de Mendoza.

She said she was in poor health and her “family is very affected”.

The 39-year-old complainant has alleged she was violently and repeatedly raped by the pair at their hotel in the city of Mendoza.

She said she felt “very ashamed” but wanted “real justice”, expressing “loyalty towards victims of sexist violence, many of whom remain silent and do not press charges”.

The players have been charged with aggravated rape and granted house arrest.

According to a forensic report following a medical examination of the woman, 15 injuries were recorded on her body, but it had not been determined if they came from blows or pressure to the skin.

In a message to AFP, Antoine Vey, one of the players’ lawyers, said Friday that “since the beginning of the case, the plaintiff’s counsel [have engaged] in a communication campaign that is dangerous and detrimental to the smooth running of the investigation”.

Another attorney for the players, Rafael Cuneo Libarona, told AFP in an interview last week that “new evidence is coming out, everyday videos and images come out and technology is allowing us to construct a very strong element of innocence”.

His clients are awaiting a hearing to determine if their house arrest will be extended or if they will be freed while awaiting trial.